Salus et Vita

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2025)
Articles

Epidemiology of mortality from traffic accidents in Honduras (2013–2023)

pdf (Spanish)
  • Augusto Alfonso Rosales Meléndez
Augusto Alfonso Rosales Meléndez
Universidad católica de Honduras.

Published 2026-02-05

https://doi.org/10.63975/sev.48

Keywords

  • Traffic accidents,
  • Honduras,
  • Mortality,
  • Pedestrian

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How to Cite

Rosales Meléndez, A. A. (2026). Epidemiology of mortality from traffic accidents in Honduras (2013–2023). Salus Et Vita, 1(2), 21-28. https://doi.org/10.63975/sev.48
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Introduction: Traffic accidents are a major cause of mortality in Honduras, whose temporal, sex, and territorial patterns require further exploration. Objective: To characterize mortality due to traffic accidents in Honduras, emphasizing differences by sex, age group, victim role, and geographic distribution. Materials and methods: Descriptive ecological study. Crude and age-standardized mortality rates from traffic accidents in Honduras (2013–2023) were calculated, stratified by sex, age, and department, using data from the National Observatory of Violence. Temporal trends and the geographic distribution of deaths were analyzed. Results: Between 2013 and 2023, a total of 16,764 deaths from traffic accidents were recorded in Honduras, of which 87% (14,037) corresponded to men. The age-standardized mortality rate among men (per 100,000 inhabitants) showed an annual increase of 3.5% (95% CI: 1.2–6.1%; p < 0.001), while no significant changes were observed among women. The most frequent victim roles were pedestrian (31.2%) and motorcycle driver (24.8%). The departments of Atlántida and Comayagua had the highest mortality rates, with 24.1 and 22.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. Conclusion: Mortality due to traffic accidents in Honduras shows an upward trend, with higher rates among men and older adults. Motorcycle drivers and pedestrians are the most affected groups, highlighting the need for comprehensive prevention and road safety strategies.

pdf (Spanish)

References

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  23. Ramírez I, Scartascini C. Increasing Road Safety in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons from Behavioral Economics. IDB Publications 2024. https://doi.org/10.18235/0005540
  24. Ávila Flores JC, Reyes Flores LG, Herrera Funes JA, Fonseca Andrade GY. Accidentalidad vial y mortalidad por accidentes de tránsito en Honduras período 2013 al 2020. Rev Méd Hondur 2024;92:17–21. https://doi.org/10.5377/rmh.v92i1.18246
  25. Cálix APP, Corea NR. Determinantes sociales de la salud en los accidentes de tránsito en Honduras 2019. Revista Médica Hondureña 2022;90:15–21. https://doi.org/10.5377/rmh.v90i1.14182
  26. Chand A, Jayesh S, Bhasi AB. Road traffic accidents: An overview of data sources, analysis techniques and contributing factors. Materials Today: Proceedings 2021;47:5135–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.05.415
  27. Abdullah P, Sipos T. Drivers’ Behavior and Traffic Accident Analysis Using Decision Tree Method. Sustainability 2022;14:11339. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811339
  28. Observatorio Nacional de la Violencia. Datos abiertos - Instituto Universitario en Democracia, Paz y Seguridad [Internet]. Tegucigalpa: IUDPAS-UNAH; 2025. Disponible en: https://iudpas.unah.edu.hn/areas/observatorio-de-la-violencia/datos-abiertos/
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  34. Cullen P, Möller H, Woodward M, Senserrick T, Boufous S, Rogers K, et al. Are there sex differences in crash and crash-related injury between men and women? A 13-year cohort study of young drivers in Australia. SSM Popul Health 2021;14:100816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100816
  35. Abrams MZ, Bass CR. Female vs. male relative fatality risk in fatal motor vehicle crashes in the US, 1975–2020. PLoS One 2024;19:e0297211. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297211
  36. Moreno González J, Labeaga JM. Gender disparities in the severity of car accidents: Empirical evidence for Spain. Journal of Safety Research 2025;94:1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2025.06.007
  37. Hadayeghi A, Shalaby AS, Persaud BN. Development of planning level transportation safety tools using Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression. Accid Anal Prev 2010;42:676–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.10.016
  38. Russo F, Biancardo SA, Dell’Acqua G. Road safety from the perspective of driver gender and age as related to the injury crash frequency and road scenario. Traffic Inj Prev 2014;15:25–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2013.794943
  39. Heinrich D, Holzmann C, Wagner A, Fischer A, Pfeifer R, Graw M, et al. What are the differences in injury patterns of young and elderly traffic accident fatalities considering death on scene and death in hospital? Int J Legal Med 2017;131:1023–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-017-1531-8
  40. Lee HH, Cho J-S, Lim YS, Hyun SY, Woo J-H, Jang JH, et al. Relationship between age and injury severity in traffic accidents involving elderly pedestrians. Clin Exp Emerg Med 2019;6:235–41. https://doi.org/10.15441/ceem.18.052
  41. Burdett BR, Starkey NJ, Charlton SG. Characteristics of the close to home crash. Safety Science 2018;105:222–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.02.020
  42. Naumann RB, West BA, Barry V, Matthews S, Lee R. Pedestrian and Overall Road Traffic Crash Deaths - United States and 27 Other High-Income Countries, 2013-2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2025;74:134–9. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7408a2
  43. Villaveces A, Sanhueza A, Henríquez Roldán CF, Escamilla-Cejudo JA, Rodrigues EMS. Transport modes and road traffic mortality in the Americas: Deaths among pedestrian and motorcycle users through the lifespan. Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot 2021;28:103–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457300.2020.1858112

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